figurine makeover

Recently while thrift shopping, I came across a figurine of an angel holding a rabbit. “Oh neat”, I thought- “that can be a deity figure for my Spring Equinox altar!” I didn’t much like the colors though; it never seems to look right to me how small figurines have the details painted in. Then I remembered what I did for altar statues before I started sculpting; I made them look “rustic” with layers of acrylic paint. So now I’ll share that method with you…

You’ll need:
paintbrush
sponge
white acrylic craft paint (or acrylic gesso)
dark acrylic craft paint
light beige or off-white acrylic craft paint

1. First, clean all the dust and grime off your thrift shop treasure.

2. Next, paint a layer of thick white acrylic paint or acrylic gesso. This will make the subsequent layers of paint look even. Let dry thoroughly.

3. Now give the figure a rough layer of dark acrylic paint, concentrating on getting paint into the creases. I used a shade of green called “thicket” for the figurine shown here. Let dry thoroughly.

4. For this next step, use a sponge instead of a paintbrush. Dip the sponge in a light shade of acrylic paint like “parchment”. Lightly blot the sponge and dab over the figure; mostly getting the raised parts. Don’t try to get paint down in the crevices. Let dry.

There you go! From cheesy to rustic in four simple steps.

vintage bottle makeover

If your looking for inexpensive containers for storing small amounts of herbs, I have an idea for you… You’ve probably seen these 1970’s style spice jars with the plastic stopper in a wooden rack at thrift stores. They’re pretty easy to find. Find ’em, get ’em. Soak them in hot soapy water. The old labels scrub off pretty easily. (If not, goop remover will help it along.) You can replace the plastic stoppers with tapered cork size 10, found at your local craft store.

You don’t need fancy materials or even a printer to make these labels. All you need is masking tape, a permanent marker, and a flame! Write the name on the masking tape, cut or tear it off, and touch the edges to a flame. When the edge catches fire, blow it out real quick, and watch those fingers! The resulting label will look like aged parchment. Masking tape makes an excellent label on glass and plastic surfaces. It sticks well, but comes off easily when you want it to.